Foundation vent

ABSTRACT

A foundation vent having a main body defining a first area and a number of openings to permit air to pass through the body. A moveable grill portion is mounted to said body and can be moved to selectively open and close the openings to the passage of air. A skirt is bendably attached to at least one edge of said main body by a living hinge to define a second area. The foundation vent may be fit to an opening of any size between the sum of said first and second areas and the first area, by bending the skirt to form an angled ramp.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims the benefit of Canadian Application No. 2511411,filed Jul. 5, 2005, titled “Foundation Vent”, the contents of which areincorporated by reference herein.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

This invention relates generally to building products and in particularto ventilation devices which are used in buildings to provide for thecirculation of air between an exterior and an interior or closed inportion of the building. Most particularly this invention relates tovents that are used to permit ventilation and air circulation throughfoundation block walls and which are referred to as foundation vents.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Foundations are used to form a solid base upon which to build buildings.Usually such foundations consist of footings, typically made fromconcrete, upon which concrete block walls are built. In northernclimates, the foundations must extend below the frost line, to preventmovement of the foundation due to frost heaving. Thus, many buildingcodes require the footings be located six to eight feet or more belowgrade.

The concrete block walls are typically built up on the footings toextend up to about ground level. Then, the rest of the building is builton top of the block wall. In northern climates the full area inside ofthe foundation is excavated, leaving a full basement under the building.In more temperate climates the footings do not have to be as deep intothe ground, leaving either a small crawl space with a low block wall oreven no crawl space at all, with the footings being formed on grade andmaybe only one or two rows of blocks.

For such block wall construction there is typically a requirement forventilation of the closed in area under the building. Such ventilationis preferably accomplished, while at the same time preventing insects orpests from gaining access under the building. The devices used arefoundation vents. These vents are sized to fit into the block wall andare typically grouted in place with masonry cement or the like.

An example of a prior art design is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 6,302,785which issued on Oct. 16, 2001 to Headrick Building Products, Inc. Thispatent is directed to a foundation vent which includes a top sill withoverhanging lateral edges as shown in FIGS. 5 and 6. The foundation ventincludes a sliding grating which can be used to open or close theventilation openings. A screen is attached behind the grating on aninterior face, and is spaced apart from the grating by raised ridges andbumps. This prior patent teaches that by spacing the screen apart fromdirect contact with the back face of the grating, an improved (i.e.larger) net free ventilation area is provided.

One of the problems in the art though is that the block size used tomake the block wall can vary from place to place. For example, blockscome in both Imperial and Metric sizes with Imperial being favored insome jurisdictions (i.e. US) and Metric being favored in others (i.e.Cdn). There are three main block sizes used in North America at present.Additionally there are various ways in the art for installing suchvents, including face or flush mounted and recess mounted. In differentregions one or another of these mounting techniques can be more popular.At present no single vent can meet all of the ranges of installationconditions typically found. Thus, unsuitable vents are hand cut orotherwise roughly adapted in the field by tradesmen, with unsightly andoften unsatisfactory results. The U.S. Pat. No. 6,302,785 patent doesnot address this issue

Typically the vent will be formed with some form of sliding louvers topermit the amount of ventilation to be controlled, and indeed suchlouvers are shown in the U.S. Pat. No. 6,302,785 patent. One very commoninstallation technique is to recess mount the vent back from the edge ofthe block wall. To prevent the ingress of water a small ramp is built atthe lower edge of the vent with grout or masonry cement. What happensthough is the grout used to secure the vent in place and build the rampoften is dripped or splashed into the sliding louver mechanism. When thegrout hardens it prevents the louvers from sliding thus preventing thevent from being opened or closed as required. If the vent is frozen in afully closed position the whole purpose of installing the vent in thefirst place is frustrated.

What is desired is a simple cost efficient vent that can be used andinstalled in various sized block walls and which includes an adjustablelouver which is sheltered from being frozen in place by misplaced grout.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

One aspect of the present invention is to provide a single ventstructure which is easily and effectively adaptable to the range ofblock sizes and installation styles. In another aspect the vent isdesigned to prevent the grout from interfering with the free movement ofthe louvers, while still being easily secured in position with grout. Aswell, this invention relates to foundation vent, with grill, formed frommolded plastic that can be inexpensively mass produced and used toreliably provide foundation ventilation.

Therefore, according to the present invention, this is provided afoundation vent comprising:

a main body defining a first area;

a plurality of openings in said body to permit air to pass through thebody;

a moveable grill portion mounted to said body to selectively open andclose the openings to the passage of air; and

a skirt bendably attached to at least one edge of said main body todefine a second area,

wherein said foundation vent may be fit to an opening of any sizebetween the sum of said first and second areas and the first area.

In a further aspect of the invention there is provided a method ofinstalling a vent comprising comparing the vent to a vent opening in ablock wall, determining if the vent fits into the opening withoutmodification; and if not, modifying the vent by bending a bendable skirtto adjust the size of the vent to suit the vent opening.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Reference will now be made to the preferred embodiments of the presentinvention with reference, by way of example only, to the followingdrawings in which:

FIG. 1 is a front view of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is an exploded rear isometric view of the invention of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a top view of the invention of FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a bottom view of the invention of FIG. 1;

FIG. 5 is a side view of the invention of FIG. 1;

FIG. 6 is a front view of the invention of FIG. 1;

FIG. 7 a is a view of a first installation of the invention of FIG. 1;

FIG. 7 b is a view of a second installation of the invention of FIG. 1and

FIG. 7 c is a view of a third installation of the invention of FIG. 1.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

A vent 10 according to the present invention is disclosed in FIG. 1. Thevent 10 includes a top sill 12 and a rectangular body portion 14. Thetop sill 12 extends at portions 16 beyond the lateral edges 18 of therectangular body 14, so the overhanging portion 16 may sit upon adjacentconcrete blocks 20, 22 (see FIGS. 7 a, 7 b and 7 c). In this way thevent 10 can be hung in place while the remainder of the wall is builtaround and above the vent 10. The top sill 12 is preferably providedwith a rear offset 24, at each overhanging portion 16. This is to permitthe overhanging portion 16 of the sill 12 to be rearwardly displacedfrom the plane of the front of the vent 10. It will be appreciated thatthis is to permit the overhanging portions 16 to be completely coveredand thus both hidden and protected by the grout or mortar used betweenthe blocks in forming the block wall even when the front edge of thevent is lined up with the front edge of the blocks upon which it rests.

The rectangular body 14 is provided with a separate movable grillsection 28 which permits the passage of air there through. This grillsection 28 is shown in exploded view in FIG. 2. Most preferably thegrill section 28 made from molded plastic and is designed to provide fora large net free area for the air flow. Most preferably the grillsection is comprised of spaced apart upright sections 30 which extendfrom top to bottom and a plurality of molded slats 31, which are closelyspaced and which define narrow gaps 32 to permit air to pass throughwhile preventing insects, pests and the like from passing through. Bydisplacing the upright sections 30 rearwarding from the front plane ofthe sliding section 28, the gaps 32 extend back from the plane of therectangular portion 14. In this way, they can be sized to any desiredtotal area by displacing the section 30 further or closer to the mainbody 14. As well, rain which hits the front of the device does notstrike directly on the grill portion, making it less likely that rainwill penetrate the grill. Sliding section 28 also includes blockingsections 35 located between the upright sections 30. Blocking sections35 are sized and shaped to extend across the vertical openings 37 formedin the rectangular main body 14. While the most preferred form of theinvention is to have the grill slats 31 molded, to reduce manufacturingcosts, the air flow or ventilation can also be provided by means of anafter applied screen as in the prior art.

According to the present invention the grill section 28 is housed in themain body or generally rectangular section 40 having a lower edge 42 andside edges 44 in addition to the top sill 12. Each of these edges isformed from a generally flat element which extends from front to back todefine a thickness for the rectangular body 42. In this way therectangular body 42 defines a first rectangular area as described inmore detail below. A plurality of slats 46 which most preferably lie inthe same plane, define the vertical openings 37 in the rectangular area42, and the grill section 28 may be slid sideways to open or close thegaps. A tab 50 (FIG. 1) is provided for this purpose, which projectsthrough the main body 14.

A shown in FIG. 2 a number of bumps or detents 52 are formed on thebottom edge 42, behind the front wall each of which ends short of theplane of the slats 46. Although not shown, a similar series of detentsis present under the top edge. The bumps 52 include end walls 51 facingthe front of the grill, which define a narrow trough or groove 53between the flat faces of the bumps 52 and the plane of the slates 46.This groove 53 is sized and shaped to permit the grill section 28 to besnap or press fit into place and to slid sideways behind the slats 46.The grill section is sized to be slightly smaller in width than therectangular section and can freely move sideways the width of one slat46. In this way the vent can be opened and closed, by selectivelypositioning either the rearwardly spaced apart upright sections 30 orthe blocking portions 35 across the vertical openings 37. The tab 50projects through a slot past the front, where it can be manipulated backand forth to open and close the vent. A slot 51 (FIG. 1) is formed inthe slat 46 abutting the tab 51 so the vent may be fully closed.

As shown in FIG. 1, extending from the front of the lower edge 42 of therectangular body 14 there is provided a downwardly extending skirtmember 60, which includes a living hinge 62 along the edge connectingthe skirt member 60 to the lower edge 42 of the rectangular body 14. Theskirt member 60 also has free side edges 64 and 66 and a bottom edge 68,and so can pivot about the living hinge 62 in a forward or backwarddirection. The skirt member 60 defines a second rectangular area to thepresent invention when viewed from in front. Most preferably the skirtmember 60 is also provided with a contoured or angled lowermost edge 70to facilitate a good bond with grout. Thus, the lower face may beangled, to permit the lower edge to lie flush with a horizontal surfacewhen the skirt 60 is extended forwardly from the body 14 at an angle.Alternatively, the lower face may include a notch 72 to act as a key wayaround which grout may be inserted and then hardened. According to thepresent invention the skirt 60 and the living hinge 62 make the ventadaptable to various sizes of vent openings which arise due to thedifferent block sizes as explained in more detail below.

It will also be understood that as first molded the living hinge 62 isnot operational due to a small web of plastic 74 on either side 64, 66which prevents the skirt 60 from being hinged forward. This web ofmaterial most preferably is formed on at least one and preferably bothsides of the skirt 60 and is sized and shaped to be broken by someonewho forces the skirt 60 forward. Web 74 is shown broken in FIG. 1 andintact in FIG. 2 and is thus a frangible portion. The total forcerequired is not large, but the small web of material 74 on either sideis enough to cause the skirt to remain straight, unless the skirt 60 isforced forward. Once the webs of plastic 74 are broken the skirt isretained on the body by the living hinge. A nick or other weakness maybe used to facilitate controlled breaking at 74.

FIG. 3 shows the vent 10 from above, with the offset portion 24 ofoverhanging portions 16. FIG. 4 is a view from below showing the skirt60 and the offset portions 24. FIG. 5 is a side view showing the forwardposition. FIG. 6 is a front view showing the skirt, upright sections 46,openings 37 and portions 30.

Typically in foundation wall construction the opening into which thevent is to be placed is defined by the face area of the blocks beingused to build the block wall. Thus, to make the vent opening the masonsimply leaves out a block at a suitable location in the row of theblocks used to make the wall, thereby defining the vent opening. Of thethree common types of blocks, one type of block has a largest face area,another has a smallest face area and others have a face area somewhat inbetween the largest and smallest. At present the size difference relatesnot the length of the blocks, but rather only to the height andthickness of the blocks. Therefore, no matter which block is usedfoundation vent openings formed by leaving off a single block, will havea standard width of opening. Even if the width changes as the blocks maybe positioned with larger or smaller mortar joints there is someflexibility for the mason to size a vent opening to a predeterminedwidth. What varies then from block wall to block wall, or installationto installation to cause the changes in face area referred to above, isthe height of the blocks selected to make the block wall, and thethickness of the block wall.

FIG. 7 a shows on type of installation of the present invention. A blockwall 90 which is made from the largest sized blocks 22, 23 defines arelatively large vent opening 92. According to the present invention thevent is preferably sized to fit snugly within this larger opening, withthe depending skirt 60 covering the lower part of the opening 92. Inother words, the depending skirt 60 acts as an extension of therectangular body 14 of the vent to provide for and cover the extraheight of the larger opening as compared to a smaller block wallopening, for example. Thus, all that is required to install the vent 10is to hang it in place on blocks 22, 23, covering the opening in theblock wall, then apply the appropriate masonry and continue building theblock wall. In this case the side webs 74 would remain intact. The ventsimply becomes a built-in component. If it is a flush mountedinstallation then the rear offset 24 in the overhang of the top sill 12allows the portions 16 to be covered in grout and hidden from view.Further, the sliding grill is mounted above the grout by the height ofthe skirt 60, greatly reducing the likelihood of stray grout being aproblem. In other words, the sliding grill 28 is raised above the lowerface of the block, where the grout is applied. Thus, even where themason does create a small sloped portion to encourage drainage out tothe front of the block wall, such a ramp is not likely to be able tointerfere with the smooth operation of the sliding grill portion 28.

In FIG. 7 b a slightly smaller sized block is shown, for example, anImperial sized block. These are another common block size, slightlysmaller than the largest block, but larger than smallest blocks.Further, the most common vent installation technique for blocks of thissize is a recessed mounting. However, the present invention is sized andshaped to easily permit such a mounting. As previously noted the skirt60 is sized to just fit within the largest opening, that of a largerblock. Therefore, the skirt is too long to fit within the opening inthis block wall, without modification. According to the presentinvention, when recess mounted (i.e. mounted at some point between theexterior wall face and the interior wall face such as mid block) theskirt 60 can be forced to pivot forwardly (in this case towards theexterior wall face) about the living hinge to break the webs 74 and toform an outwardly angled lower sill as shown in the drawing 7 b. This isalso shown in dotted outline in FIG. 5 at 100. The skirt, when bent atan angle, forms a rain deflector which directs the rain or othermoisture outwardly away from the sill and the lower edge of the block.It can now be understood that the notch at the lower free edge of theskirt 60 facilitates a secure attachment against a flat surface evenwhen the skirt is bent forwardly at an angle by being grouted intoplace.

The provision of a skirt which is bent downwardly and outwardly reducesthe need to form a water shedding ramp from mortar or the like duringthe installation of the ramp. If the mason so desires, such a ramp canstill be formed, but it will be made while the skirt is lifted up. Inthe raised position the skirt acts a shield to protect the slidingmechanism from splashes of grout or the like which, in the prior artdesigns occur with a regular frequency. Then once the grout is roughlypositioned, the skirt can be lowered and pressed into the grout, whichwhen hardened, forms a solid base under the skirt. The living hingepermits the skirt to be integral with the body of the vent which in turnprevents the water from being able to easily get past the lower edge ofthe vent and into the building interior.

FIG. 7 c shows an installation of the present invention in the smallestsized or metric sized block. These are the smallest in overall face areaand so define a vent opening which is also the smallest in height.Often, with metric sized block vent openings, flush mounting of the ventto an exterior face of the block wall is preferred. To permit this,according to the present invention, the rectangular body section 14 issized and shaped to correspond to the typical face area of a typicalmetric block. Thus, the rectangular section 14 of the present inventionwill fit snugly within the metric block wall opening (defined by leavingout a metric block) with the lower edge of the rectangular portion onthe block coinciding with the lower edge of the opening, and the skirt60 hanging down in front. To install the vent, all that is required isto place the vent at the forward edge of the block wall opening with theskirt 60 extending down in front of the block wall below the opening. Aspreviously noted, the overhang portion 16 of the top sill 12 can beflush with the block edge by means of offset portion 24. This isillustrated in FIG. 7 c.

As described above, the present invention provides small reinforcingwebs of plastic 74 located on either end of the living hinge 62. Thesereinforcing sections are sized and shaped to provide rigidity to theskirt 60, but small enough to be easily broken by an installer. Thus, ifthe living hinge is not used, the skirt 60 remains stiff. Once bentthough, it becomes flexible and can be easily positioned at anypreferred angle. The small plastic web formations thus simply add someinitial stiffness.

As can now be understood the vent is governed by some key dimensionalconstraints. Firstly, the overall length of the vent from the top sillto the lower skirt edge must be in accordance with the typical blockheight for the largest blocks. Secondly, the rectangular grill sectionis sized and shaped to fit within the opening of the smallest blocksize. Third, the living hinge must be positioned at a position which ispartly above the bottom level of the opening in an imperial block, sothe skirt can be bent forward to form a lower sill as shown forintermediate sized blocks.

Thus, the present invention provides a single vent structure which maybe used equally on the largest and smallest blocks used in foundationblock walls, and is indeed adjustable to being used for any block heightbetween the largest height and a smallest height simply by being bentalong living hinge 62 to a larger or smaller degree.

According to another aspect of the invention the use of skirts andliving hinges is not limited to the lower edge of the vent and as willbe appreciated by those skilled in the art such skirts can also beprovided on other parts of the vent, such as the sides to facilitate theuse of the vent in block walls of different length blocks whichtherefore define vent openings of different lengths.

While reference has been made to various preferred embodiments of theinvention other variations are comprehended by the broad scope of theappended claims. Some of these have been discussed in detail in thisspecification and others will be apparent to those skilled in the art.All such variations and alterations are comprehended by thisspecification are intended to be covered, without limitation.

1. A foundation vent for a blockwall, the vent comprising: a main body defining a first area; a plurality of vent openings in said body to permit air to pass through the body; a moveable grill portion mounted to said body to selectively open and close the vent openings to the passage of air; and a skirt bendably attached to at least one edge of said main body to define a second area, wherein said foundation vent may be fit to a range of appropriately sized block openings in said block wall by selectively bending said skirt to fit said vent to said block opening.
 2. The invention of claim 1 wherein the first and second areas are rectangular.
 3. The invention of claim 1 wherein the skirt is bendably attached to a lower edge of the main body.
 4. A foundation vent as claimed in claim 1 further including a living hinge between the skirt and the rectangular body.
 5. A foundation vent as claimed in claim 1 further including a frangible portion to retain said skirt in an unbent position.
 6. A foundation vent as claimed in claim 1 wherein the first rectangular area is sized and shaped to match a first block size, so said rectangular body fits into said first block opening formed in a block wall formed from said first blocks.
 7. A foundation vent as claimed in claim 6 wherein said skirt is sized and shaped to extend partially down a front face of a first block positioned below the first block opening.
 8. A foundation vent as claimed in claim 1 wherein said foundation vent may be secured in place in a block wall with mortar, and said skirt is sized and shaped to inhibit said mortar from interfering with said moveable grill portion.
 9. A foundation vent as claimed in claim 2 wherein said first and second rectangular areas together are sized and shaped to match a second block size so said rectangular body and said skirt fit into a second block opening in a second block wall formed by omitting one of said second blocks.
 10. A foundation vent as claimed in claim 9 wherein said skirt bends to permit said vent to fit into a third block opening in a block wall wherein said third block opening is sized between said first and second block opening sizes.
 11. A foundation vent as claimed in claim 1 further including a top sill, said top sill extending laterally on either side of said rectangular body to permit said rectangular body to be supported by blocks positioned adjacent to either side of said rectangular body.
 12. A foundation vent as claimed in claim 11 wherein said top sill further includes lateral extensions which extend beyond a side edge of said rectangular body and which are offset from a front edge of said rectangular body.
 13. A foundation vent as claimed in claim 1 wherein said moveable grill includes blocking sections sized and shaped to block said plurality of vent openings in said body, when said movable grill is moved to a closed position.
 14. A foundation vent as claimed in claim 13 wherein said moveable grill section includes a handle to move said grill in said main body between said closed position and an open position.
 15. A foundation vent as claimed in claim 14 wherein said moveable grill includes a molded in grill extending rearwardly from said blocking sections, said grill sections ending in generally planar upright sections.
 16. A foundation vent as claimed in claim 15 wherein said moveable grill section is press fit into said main body portion.
 17. A foundation vent as claimed in claim 1 wherein said skirt includes a lower edge, and said lower edge is shaped to engage monitor to retain said skirt in a bent position.
 18. A foundation vent as claimed in claim 2 wherein said first rectangular area is defined by side walls which extend rearwardly from a front face to define said rectangular main body.
 19. A method of installing a prefabricated vent in a foundation block wall comprising: comparing the prefabricated vent to a vent opening in a block wall, determining if the vent fits into the opening without modification; and if it does, installing the vent, and if not, modifying the vent by bending a bendable skirt to adjust the size of the vent to suit the vent opening and then installing the modified vent. 